Master Key

About

"Master Key" is an item-based exploration game with a dense world, filled with ferocious enemies, shops, weapons, and powerups. Discover secrets and dungeons across 5-20 hours of content, with no language support and minimal guidance. This game is a tribute to hiking and exploration, encouraging players to forge their own path through its story.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

93%

Audience ScoreBased on 272 reviews

graphics24 positive mentions

grinding28 negative mentions

Master Key is a delightful homage to classic Zelda games, featuring rewarding exploration, clever puzzles, and a charming 1-bit art style.
The game successfully captures the essence of adventure and discovery, with numerous secrets and upgrades that enhance gameplay.
The minimalist design, with no text and only pictographs, encourages players to engage with the game world creatively and intuitively.

Combat can be frustrating due to unresponsive controls, enemy hitboxes, and the tendency for enemies to stun-lock players.
The game lacks clear direction, making it easy to get lost or miss important items and secrets, which can lead to tedious backtracking.
Some players may find the difficulty spikes and the grind for upgrades to be off-putting, especially in the later stages of the game.

graphics
74 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
64%
4%
The game's graphics are characterized by a charming 1-bit art style that pays homage to classic Game Boy titles, featuring a simple two-color palette that is customizable. While the visuals are clean and well-executed, some players find them occasionally difficult to read, leading to challenges in navigation and combat. Overall, the aesthetic is praised for its personality and nostalgic appeal, contributing positively to the gameplay experience despite its minimalistic design.
- “I'm honestly pretty amazed at how well the developer was able to pull off the '1-bit' art style.”
- “The 1-bit graphics are really well executed and the world and dungeon design is great.”
- “The simple but adorable pixel art works very well, the bright and whimsical music has been stuck in my head and the aforementioned secrets and paths I've gotten to explore so far, all add up to this being one of the best games I've played in a long time.”
- “The graphics are simple—only two colors (although the palette is customizable).”
- “Apart from that, the game's graphics are serviceable, but there are times when it's hard to make stuff out.”
- “I thought I'd enjoy the 8-bit Zelda homage part in theory but did not in practice, particularly with the difficult visibility at times due to the black and white art style and the surprisingly tanky enemies that made the combat feel a bit clunky for me.”
music
66 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
50%
5%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its nostalgic chiptune style that complements the gameplay and environments beautifully. Composed by Noé Guiton, the soundtrack is described as catchy, emotional, and well-crafted, enhancing the overall experience and leaving a lasting impression on players. While some found it less enjoyable outside the game context, the consensus is that it significantly enriches the adventure and exploration elements.
- “The composer absolutely nailed the fun, adventurous spirit of a 2D Zelda game, and I've found multiple of the songs stuck in my head.”
- “The music does a great job of conveying emotion in various areas; well done to the composer.”
- “Speaking of discs, the music in Master Key, composed by Noé Guiton, is phenomenally scored and the absolute best choice that Achromi could have chosen for this robust and vibrant world he created.”
- “I wouldn't listen to this OST by itself like with some other games, but it was very good for the time I spent with it in-game.”
- “The environments would not feel the same without the music.”
- “The music is okay.”
gameplay
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
60%
13%
The gameplay is praised for its fluid mechanics, rewarding exploration, and clever puzzles, all set within a charming, nostalgic aesthetic reminiscent of classic titles. While the game features a well-tuned combat system and engaging power-ups, some players noted issues with boss fight length and clarity of certain mechanics, which could pose challenges for inexperienced players. Overall, it offers a satisfying blend of adventure and puzzle-solving that appeals to fans of traditional action-adventure games.
- “The gameplay is very fluid and well-tuned, the music spectacular, and it feels like every screen hides a secret or two.”
- “The gameplay is both familiar and refreshing, with puzzles that are challenging yet fair, and combat that feels precise and satisfying.”
- “Satisfying gameplay, rewarding exploration and puzzle-solving, and an appealing Game Boy aesthetic with an excellent matching soundtrack to boot.”
- “The gameplay is not perfect.”
- “As I said above, the bosses have incredible design, but it was slightly worsened by how long the fights were, how much damage their simple attacks do, the lack of healing spawned by mechanics of the fight, and how hard it was to predict/dodge a small amount of their attacks.”
- “Towards the 2nd half of the game, there were some mechanics that I wish were explained, such as [spoiler] destroying trees & dungeon walls, and swimming up waterfalls [/spoiler].”
grinding
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, often feeling like an unnecessary chore rather than an engaging challenge. The need to grind for money to purchase key items, combined with difficult enemy interactions and labyrinthine navigation, detracts from the overall enjoyment, despite some praise for the puzzles and boss combat. Many reviewers express a desire for a sequel that streamlines these elements to enhance the gaming experience.
- “If you're not a skilled gamer, you might just think, 'well, the game is hard.' Experienced players, though, can tell the difference between a game that is hard but fun and well-designed, and a game that is just tedious, frustrating, and unfun.”
- “Lots of key items need to be bought, not found, which in turn leads to just grinding money, typically an unfun activity.”
- “There was a lot of exhaustion in either having to kill enemies that take many hits or trying to dodge enemies and taking random hits that you then have to spend time grinding health back from.”
story
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
58%
25%
The game's story is minimal, primarily conveyed through environmental clues rather than text, focusing on the quest to unlock a sealed power from an ancient civilization. While the narrative lacks depth, the world is rich and engaging, encouraging exploration without being story-gated. Players can enjoy a meaty gameplay experience filled with charm, despite the limited storytelling elements.
- “This is a Zelda clone starring a fox, with difficult combat but no text, where you spend the game working to unlock a terrible power that was sealed away by an ancient civilization. The backstory is told through environmental clues, and the postgame is full of ARG-like puzzles involving finding and deciphering hidden sequences of directions.”
- “I don't get the sense that there's much story or lore depth to dig into, having completed nearly 100%, but it's a really meaty exploration game with decent combat and plenty of everything to dig your teeth into.”
- “This is a Zelda clone starring a fox, with difficult combat but no text, where you spend the game working to unlock a terrible power that was sealed away by an ancient civilization (a backstory told by environmental clues), with a postgame full of ARG-like puzzles involving finding and deciphering hidden sequences of directions.”
- “I don't get the sense that there's much story/world/lore depth to dig into, having completed nearly 100%, but it's a really meaty exploration game with decent combat, and plenty of everything to dig your teeth into.”
- “Since there is no text, don't expect a huge story.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a longing for emotional experiences reminiscent of classic games like Link's Awakening, highlighting that while Elden Ring is a top-tier game, it evokes different feelings and tears. The emotional impact of games varies significantly, with each title resonating uniquely with players.
- “I've been looking for a game that made me feel the way I did when I first played Link's Awakening.”
- “Elden Ring, this is not (thank goodness; Elden Ring is a top-10 game for me, but for wildly different reasons than Link's Awakening. It also made me cry for wildly different reasons than Link's Awakening).”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the humor in the game, often finding themselves amused by unexpected deaths and the challenges posed by obscure puzzles, which add a lighthearted touch to the gameplay experience.
- “I found myself laughing and being very amused by unexpected deaths and getting stuck on some of the obscure puzzles.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has some bugs, with users reporting minimal crashes, but the developer is actively engaged in the community to address these issues. Overall, stability appears manageable, with ongoing support for troubleshooting.
- “It is a bit buggy (only encountered 1 crash myself), but the developer is active in the community hub working towards troubleshooting.”

Buy Master Key

Master Key
$11.99
See offer on Steam

5h Median play time

5h Average play time

2-8h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs

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